2022 Official Bolts Draft Superthread

[jamrock]

We’re missing the guy that Murray was supposed to be; a heat seeking ILB

[equivocation]

Good takes.
Good to see you back.
At #17 I want talent, skill.
WR is under consideration on my board.
Re Edge-setting run defender,
I wanna save that for later.
(~Jarrett Johnson at #17 ?
No. No. No.)

McCreary and Dax Hill interest me.
Are Webb or Gillman ready to give us some real impact ? CHJ is riding off into the sunset. I see #1 PON as being a highly skilled, athletic, Combo DB. Slot. Boundary. Two High. Sure tackler. Quick processor.

Thanks. Big off season for this team.

Freak List guys who may be available at 17 from what I've seen are Davis, Walker, Penning, and Jameson Williams. All have massive red flags, which is why they're available. Haven't scouted DBs or other edge yet.

[wu-dai clan]

Thanks. Big off season for this team.

Freak List guys who may be available at 17 from what I've seen are Davis, Walker, Penning, and Jameson Williams. All have massive red flags, which is why they're available. Haven't scouted DBs or other edge yet.

Things like Nasir's inconsistency/ poor angles, ASJ's concussions, and MDavis' under performing,
were factors in our unacceptable run defense.

I see some fatties late in the '22 Draft. This draftnik can live with Big Jordan at #17, but will continue to scrutinize.

[Stinky Wizzleteats+]

KC is going to need to add a WR and I think they will do so early. Any WR we take at 17 is a WR they will not have.

[equivocation]

Things like Nasir's inconsistency/ poor angles, ASJ's concussions, and MDavis' under performing,
were factors in our unacceptable run defense.

I see some fatties late in the '22 Draft. This draftnik can live with Big Jordan at #17, but will continue to scrutinize.

Adderley showed himself to be a willing and physical run defender and I'm willing to give him another year for the game to slow down. Can't upgrade everywhere so young guys have to step up. Coaching staff #1 job is teaching.

Slot CB is a huge need and Harris was a disaster in run D. I'm willing to move James there is a stellar DS is available.

2nd and 3rd level were weak in run D but off tackle run D has to stretch the play first so they have time to come up.

[wu-dai clan]

Adderley showed himself to be a willing and physical run defender and I'm willing to give him another year for the game to slow down. Can't upgrade everywhere so young guys have to step up. Coaching staff #1 job is teaching.

Slot CB is a huge need and Harris was a disaster in run D. I'm willing to move James there is a stellar DS is available.

2nd and 3rd level were weak in run D but off tackle run D has to stretch the play first so they have time to come up.

[wu-dai clan]

Agreed.
This is exactly why we need a certain type of DT.
And perfectly slotted and/or priced.

[Boltjolt]

Adderley showed himself to be a willing and physical run defender and I'm willing to give him another year for the game to slow down. Can't upgrade everywhere so young guys have to step up. Coaching staff #1 job is teaching.

Slot CB is a huge need and Harris was a disaster in run D. I'm willing to move James there is a stellar DS is available.

2nd and 3rd level were weak in run D but off tackle run D has to stretch the play first so they have time to come up.

Adderley has continued to get better so I expect another level next season.

[wu-dai clan]

Adderley has continued to get better so I expect another level next season.

Some consistency would be appreciated.
I still say he's a Slot.

[Steve]

Things to keep in mind with Davis and his highlight reel of him jumping the gap.

The OG trying to reach him starts an entire player to the backside from where he starts. That is a college thing. It may happen in the NFL (I don't think it does, but I don't watch every game that closely), but I can't recall seeing NFL teams asking the Backside OG to reach a DT a full player over without first asking the C to enage him to move the DT back over to the OG. So, you aren't going to see that kind of play from him.

Davis doesn't make that many plays, so it's not like all the plays he is making vs an OL half a gap frontside leverage are not making it into the highlight videos. He just can't out quick an OG in college to make those plays. And if Davis can't make those plays vs college OL, he sure isn't going to do it vs NFL players.

His highlight film is full of him being quick and nimble, not tossing OL to one side and walking C's back into the backfield. If a player is not making plays in the way you want him to do it in the NFL, maybe you have the wrong guy. Davis is obviously a power guy, but where are the power highlights? He seems to only make plays as a quickness guy? Are we going to play him as a 3 tech player???

Again going back to his stats and highlights, Davis can't rush the QB. College QB hold the ball a lot longer than NFL guys. So, if Davis has a token number of sacks and pressures vs college QB, he isn\t going to be able to do it against NFL OL who are WAY better pass blockers than the college guys he is used to playing against.

[Steve]

Agree on Devonte Wyatt, is violent and can anchor, stack-and-shed, good use of hands, and played a dominant style, in a pro-system, in the SEC. I'm seeing him projected to Philadelphia couple picks ahead of the Chargers, so he's a legit 1st Rounder, but if a Corner or RT is there, is Wyatt as EDGE the choice?

It is worth remembering the most impressive run D in the world is not going to stop a team from trying to run at us as much as getting a 21 point lead. Offenses will continue to do what they want until they feel like they have to give up because the game is getting out of hand.

Adding run defense ability on D is a necessity, but improving the OL is a more effective way to make any O we play one-dimensional.

[Steve]

Getting an immovable 1DT alone doesn’t solve all defensive problems, 100% agree. But NO defensive problems will be solved until we solve this. Jmo. The criteria for 3-down players misses the fact that NFL is highly specialized and if we plug a generalist into a specialist role, he is by definition not as good - absent the rare unicorn athletic freak that just does everything better than anyone else.

JDavis moves very well for a big fat gap-clogging NT. Thats the #1 risk with big fat NTs is that don’t have this rare athletic talent and can ‘t move,. There are other good DL prospects - the kid from ALA is good, a few others. We’ve all seen the list here and in many Davis isn’t even #1. I’m not married to only JD or bust - i defer to the scouts here and even could go to Rd 2. I doubt we will get that difference maker if we wait past Rd2 though. We were near last in rush defense, another undersized DT isnt the answer to that problem.

We also need CB1, that could be a #17 pick, or RT. I’m of the mind that RT is probably the easiest to upgrade to a workable level (we may have that guy in Pipkins already?) and more of our losses were due to defense than offense last year.

I’d almost rather take an elite skill player at 17 than a RT, personally. Our skills guys are “typical” but not elite, with the exception of Eke. Again Jmo. KA is a master technician but seems to be slipping slightly and isn’t breakaway threat. MDub is Mr Radius but will be high priced. Palmer is a poor man’s MDub and will be better but again, not a threat over the top. Guyton has flashes but he’s not a Deebo or Hill, he’s not elusive vs straight line speed. We don’t have a power RB, so we misuse Eke in that role and he does his best. This could be Rd2 also.

Always hard to decide - limited picks, lots of needs to upgrade. Hmmm.

There is nothing wrong with adding a big, powerful NT. That is NOT the argument being made. It never has been.

The argument is that you don't want to reach for the guy at #17 to get a situational run stuffer, when the guys who are going to have the athletic ability to be consistent playmakers (on O or D) are available. The secondary argument is that the college FB crowd is overvaluing Davis.

The other argument is - do you draft need or value? Yes, in terms of our worst-performing area, run D wins out, although there are several other areas close behind. We have DB to the point that secondary is not a need. We have WR to the point that that position is not a need. I would argue that OL is like that too. The point being, I am not against adding a player in any of those areas despite not being a true need.

Adding an impact/quality draft pick player in those spots would still make the team better. Finding the right guy and getting synergy, means that there could be a major boost to the team.

The flip side is going for need, it improves the team faster than any other way. turning one or more of the problem areas could show the biggest improvement in terms of outcomes. The big downside is that it is kinda living in the past. The coaches will spend a lot of the offseason addressing ways to offset the problems from last year.

If the problem was something other than personnel, then that is something that can be fixed without a tremendous amount of draft or FA capital. For example, our D, with many of the same players in 2020, was ranked 10th overall. We were middle of the pack in terms of run D, but even that is misleading, since there was very little difference in run D between the best and worst run defenses, unless you were the top couple or bottom couple of teams. That begs the question, how much of it is just what Staley was doing something "different"?